Three observations after McCain, Yabusele comes up big in the Sixers’ second OT win

3 observations after McCain, Yabusele comes up big in Sixers’ second OT win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers cruised to their second win of the season on Sunday night with great performances from rookie Jared McCain and makeshift backup center Guerschon Yabusele.

McCain scored 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting, Yabusele scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting and the Sixers picked up a 107-105 overtime win over the Hornets at Wells Fargo Center.

They improved to 2-7 on the season and Charlotte fell to 4-6.

In his home debut with the Sixers, Paul George scored 15 points (6 for 18 from the field) and nine assists.

Hornets star LaMelo Ball scored 38 points and eight assists.

The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring strain). Embiid is expected to play his first game of the season on Tuesday night against the Knicks.

Here are observations from the Sixers’ second overtime win of the year:

George finds some flow early

George was in the thick of things early in his Sixers home debut.

He failed on a three-point attempt on the opening play, then drove strong for a layup on the Sixers’ next play.

About four minutes later, George was lying on the floor in the right corner after apparently accidentally receiving a punch to the face from Hornets rookie Tidjane Salaun. He was visibly shaken, but George eventually got up, went to the bench and stayed in the game.

As the first quarter progressed, George picked up the pace and appeared more confident. George’s minutes have been limited in the last three games since his return from a bone bruise in his left knee, meaning he has had less opportunity to find a sustained flow. Nick Nurse said George recently discussed the challenge with him before the game. On Sunday, the Sixers head coach played George for almost ten minutes straight to start the evening.

Nurse directed Yabusele to the opposite corner from George at one point to ensure the nine-time All-Star had room to set up Hornets shooting guard Josh Green. George took off a nice faded sweater. He then fed a rolling Yabusele for a layup.

George finished Sunday with 33 minutes and sat out overtime. He’s obviously not anywhere near his best yet, but life should get a lot easier once Embiid is on the court and drawing double team after double team.

Downtin occurs

The offense was a serious problem for both teams in the first quarter. The Sixers had a one-point lead after the first period, trailing 16:15.

They forced a whopping 10 turnovers from the Hornets in the first game. Charlotte seemed to have some discomfort with a few no-calls, but the Sixers generally played good, active defense and took advantage of the physicality that was considered legal on Sunday.

The Sixers’ first quarter rotation included two players who did not see the court in a loss to the Lakers on Friday night. Eric Gordon was back in the mix and two-way contract player Jeff Dowtin Jr. was getting his first non-garbage time minutes this season. Reggie Jackson remained on the bench.

Dowtin was impressively ready, sinking a catch-and-shoot three-pointer on his first shot. He also scored a layup and a short jumper early in the second quarter.

Dowtin also defended well at the top of the Sixers defense. The 27-year-old showed that he is a solid, error-free player who can contribute when thrown into the fire.

The sudden increase in playing time seemed to hit Dowtin in the second quarter. He leaned forward and grimaced as Andre Drummond prepared to shoot free throws. Kyle Lowry came on as a substitute.

Dowtin was the only Sixer to make a three-pointer in the first half. The team was 1 for 14 from distance in the first two quarters and had missed shots that ranged from shots in and out to hard-fought shots that never had much of a chance.

Still, the Sixers had enough success from close range to stay in the game. Three consecutive layups by Kelly Oubre Jr. in the final minute of the second quarter gave them a 46-45 lead.

McCain and Yabusele are both huge

Nurse decided to start the third quarter with Yabusele at center instead of Drummond. There were many reasons supporting his choice.

Yabusele outplayed Drummond on the Sixers’ three-game schedule on the West Coast and did the same in the first half on Sunday. Although he had a few strong shots, Drummond allowed Grant Williams to knock down two three-pointers in the second quarter. The Sixers had a 10-point lead in the first half with Drummond on the court.

As Nurse admitted before the game, Yabusele tends to open up the Sixers’ offense with his shot. He brought that and much more to the table on Sunday, including perimeter defense, decent work on the defensive line and excellent decision-making on dribble handoffs and pick-and-rolls.

Both Yabusele and McCain made two long-distance jumpers in the third quarter. Always eager to move forward in transition, McCain hit a three-pointer with 4.4 seconds left in the third quarter, giving the Sixers a 76-66 lead. His pull-up early in the fourth period extended the team’s lead to 14 points.

However, Charlotte quickly stormed back. George kept failing on his jumpers, the ball got hot and two free throws from Brandon Miller gave the Hornets an 87-86 lead with just over three minutes left.

McCain remained extremely aggressive and undeterred by the situation. With a daring high jump, he reached the 20-point mark for the first time in his NBA career. He then happily accepted a Lowry skip pass and drilled a clutch release three-pointer. Caleb Martin scored his first points of the night from almost the same spot to give the Sixers a 94-89 lead.

They failed to achieve anything close to a routine victory. Lowry missed a free throw with 10.2 seconds left and Ball tied the game by hitting a cold-blooded three-pointer in the corner.

The Sixers got the ball to George on their last regulation possession and he missed a well-guarded three-pointer to Cody Martin and fell to 1-for-9 from distance.

With George out, Nurse began overtime with a Yabusele-Drummond frontcourt. Both Yabusele and McCain continued to make important plays. Yabusele scored on a post-up hoop and McCain converted a layup during a back-and-forth, dramatic stretch. McCain held his own when he switched to ball and Charlotte committed a shot clock violation.

Of course, the final seconds of overtime were full of chaos. The Sixers were ultimately able to pull away, in part because Martin grabbed the offensive rebound after Yabusele missed consecutive free throws. You will be happy about every victory these days.